


Stone-Faced

by KeepingUpWithTheCowboys



Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: M/M, simple sweet slightly emotional
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 05:46:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5528318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeepingUpWithTheCowboys/pseuds/KeepingUpWithTheCowboys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jedediah smiled, but it wasn't real.  What is real?  The musings and thoughts of one General Octavius.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stone-Faced

**Author's Note:**

> For the NATMSS, and for destituteelevation! Merry Christmas, buddy!

It was strange how emotionless his partner always seemed to be.  How his lopsided grin was a constant state, no affirmation of real affection or joy.  If he were honest, it was depressing sometimes.  The implications often made Octavius question his own feelings, if they were steadfast in this world or existed at all.  But they must have; he was in love with the stone-faced cowboy Jedediah.  Love was the strongest feeling he knew, and it worked to fuel all of his other, lesser emotions.  Whenever he was sad, or happy or angry or courageous, it was for Jed.  Maybe something inside his brain, which he could only assume existed, was just keeping him so emotionally upright to make up for Jed’s apparent nothingness.

Why was it nothing?

Maybe, Octavius would muse, it had something to do with being a cowboy, and was in some sort of stoic contract.  But then again, all the other cowboys seemed happy in their frivolous and violent senses.

Jed seemed to have a problem; maybe he just needed a push.

Octavius recounted all of this one early morning as sun rose, and was about to tell the night guard Larry all of this plights when he froze where he stood.  Soon enough, as soon as the Roman were able, he would let Jedediah know of his loving exploits and, hopefully, the stone-faced cowboy would become one of them.

-

His chance to really talk to the other man, heart to imaginary heart, came late the next night.  The night before, the cowboy had gone missing entirely and Octavius gave up trying to find him.

But tonight, he was here.  Something was odd about the air of the evening, but in a nice way, as if jasmine flowers were just then coming to bloom.  Octavius shivered and smiled, going over in his mind what he would say to the other man whence they met.  Hopefully something tactful, maybe poignant if he were lucky.  Whatever came out of his mouth, it had to get that point of love across.

Soon enough, walking towards where he knew the cowboy was, he noticed the aroma on the air was not the only thing making him smile.  To his ears danced some sort of string picked tune, beautiful and melancholic.  It was Jed, most certainly, Octavius was aware that his dear friend had a fondness for strings.  He wondered what song he was listening to as he made his way to him, walking softly and happily to the vibe.

As he approached Jedediah, though, it seemed odd to Octavius that the cowboy did not seem to have any way of playing back the music, which they normally accomplished as some gadget, courtesy of Nicky.  But here there was none such thing.  Where was the music coming from, then?  There was something in his hands, and...

As he walked ever closer, Octavius found that Jedediah held close to him a simple guitar, from which those magical sounds seemed to spring.  His fingers swooped in deft actions across the frets, and the sound was otherworldly.  It rendered the Roman general speechless and frozen in place.  But the sound was not the only thing stopping him.

Tears ran down his face to the tempo, full of a feeling which was probably pain.  It was incredible to watch, sad because of the sorrow, but beautiful because it was real.  All of that emotion that Jed had been hiding, this was where it went.  Into a soft and sweet melody he worked notes of loss and discord, but it all wound up wonderful.

Octavius didn't want to move.

Maybe he would listen, then escape before the other man saw him; that defeated the point of his mission, but he slightly more feared the cowboy’s reaction to being spied upon.  But to let the man he loved cry in silence…  It seemed too much.  He finally stepped forward.

“Jedediah, you sound wonderful.”

The cowboy started, and turned to see him, then sank slightly and turned away to wipe his eyes.  “Oh…  Hey, Ocky.  Sorry, I, oh...”

Octavius knelt by him.  “No apologies, my friend.  Really, that was beautiful!  I would kill for fingers like yours.”

The cowboy gave a small snicker at that.  “But uh…  How long were y’all watchin’?”

Octavius shrugged.  “I couldn't tell, got lost in the song.  Did you write it?”

Jed nodded meekly in return, suddenly at a loss for words even though he had tried to stop crying.

The Roman hugged him softly.  “Please, do not be afraid to cry.  I understand that the world is big and we are small, and I understand that there's a good many people from our lives we will never see again.  But this is our chance to live again, and we might as well do so with heart and courage.  That sounds good, yes?”

Suddenly, it was as if he were a father comforting his son.  All Jedediah could do was nod.

“It's a great big world.  All we've got to do is show it who is controlling who.  We're alive again, and this world belongs to us!  You prove it with your masterful hand.  I prove it with my armies.  We have given sufficient evidence to this world that we will not stand down.  So… Let it out, Jedediah.”

Jedediah finally let free his sobs.  Octavius held to him, for how long he did not know.  But it was long enough.  He had gotten the point across.  The cowboy understood how he could be open, and maybe just the extent of how open he could be.

  
“I love you, my friend.”  He said softly, as the darkness faded into morning.


End file.
